World Bank Document...Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic Tajikistan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Azerbaijan...

THE WORLD BANK Europe and Central Asia Region

ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY IN THE EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA REGION

Working Paper No. 1

Washington, D.C. March 1999

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Sven-Ake Blomberg

Table of Contents

Summary and Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 1 1. Summary of Previous Overviews/Reviews of World Bank Experience .................................................... 5 2. Road Safety – A Rapidly Growing Global Health and Economy Problem.............................................. 12 3. Road Safety in Individual ECA Countries:

- Albania ......................................................................................................................................... 15 - Armenia........................................................................................................................................ 16 - Azerbaijan .................................................................................................................................... 17 - Belarus ......................................................................................................................................... 18 - Bosnia-Herzegovina ..................................................................................................................... 18 - Bulgaria ........................................................................................................................................ 18 - Croatia .......................................................................................................................................... 19 - Czech Republic ............................................................................................................................ 20 - Estonia.......................................................................................................................................... 20 - Georgia......................................................................................................................................... 21 - Hungary........................................................................................................................................ 22 - Kazakhstan ................................................................................................................................... 24 - Kyrgyz Republic .......................................................................................................................... 25 - Latvia ........................................................................................................................................... 26 - Lithuania ...................................................................................................................................... 27 - Macedonia .................................................................................................................................... 28 - Moldova ....................................................................................................................................... 28 - Poland........................................................................................................................................... 29 - Romania ....................................................................................................................................... 30 - Russia ........................................................................................................................................... 31 - Slovakia........................................................................................................................................ 33 - Slovenia........................................................................................................................................ 34 - Tajikistan...................................................................................................................................... 34 - Turkey .......................................................................................................................................... 34 - Turkmenistan................................................................................................................................ 36 - Ukraine......................................................................................................................................... 36 - Uzbekistan.................................................................................................................................... 37

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4. Comparative Accident Numbers and Costs in Some Countries in the Africa, East Asia and Latin America Regions

- South Africa ................................................................................................................................. 38 - Australia ....................................................................................................................................... 38 - Korea............................................................................................................................................ 38 - Thailand ....................................................................................................................................... 39 - New Zealand ................................................................................................................................ 39 - Brazil ............................................................................................................................................ 39

5. Road Safety Partnership – What Can Be Expected from EU-PHARE .................................................... 41 6. Policies and Strategies ............................................................................................................................. 43 Diagrams.................................................................................................................................................. 44-49


Sven-Ake Blomberg

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

1. The purpose of this report is to gather together brief information on the existing road safety situation in all the 27 borrowing member countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region, and to provide general guidance for further Bank support to member countries in their efforts to improve road safety. Main Findings 2. Low standards of road safety are a serious and rising problem almost throughout the Region. Fatal accidents per thousand road vehicles are multiples of those in OECD countries: nearly twice the EU average in the ten EU Accession countries, where the number of vehicles is also rapidly increasing from year to year; and as much as five times the EU level in the CIS countries, some of which have not seen significant growth of vehicle numbers. The following table provides the most recent data available for each country, and for purposes of comparison, selected countries outside the Region.

Road Accidents: Fatalities per 10,000 vehicles (latest year available)

CIS Countries

EU Accession Countries

Russia Belarus Ukraine Moldova Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic Tajikistan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Azerbaijan Armenia Georgia

19.1 19.7 23.0 34.4 36.5 16.3

7.7 10.9 16.1 24.0 12.1 12.0

Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania Bulgaria Slovenia

5.5 15.6

9.6 6.3 4.2 6.7 5.6 7.9 5.0 5.6

Other ECA Countries

Comparators

FYR Macedonia Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia Turkey

6.3 27.8

n.a. 8.1

12.4

EU USA Brazil Australia Four Nordic Countries

3.8 2.1 5.3 1.6 2.0

3. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents have been roughly estimated using a formula developed by the EU and per capita incomes given in the World Bank Atlas. The results indicate total costs of road accidents equivalent to between 1.5 and 2.5% of GDP in most countries and even more in many of the Accession countries.

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4. Poor people, especially in urban areas (where motorization is rising fastest), suffer particularly seriously from road accidents. Accident reports and road safety studies show that, on average, some 30-40% of all persons killed in road traffic accidents in the region are pedestrians or other Non-Motorized Traffic, the majority of whom are poor. Two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities, and around 80% of the injuries to pedestrians, occur in urban traffic environment. Urban areas account for between 45 and 65 percent (depending on the country) of all serious road traffic accidents. 5. Available statistics indicate some reduction in accident rates (per thousand vehicles) since 1990 in many countries. However, in most of them this is believed to reflect reduction of transport volumes and vehicle use (connected with falls in output and incomes in the early years of transition from centrally planned to market economy), rather than the beginning of sustained improvement. Moreover, in a number of countries where economic growth has resumed quite strongly, the trends of the last two years also indicate renewed rise of accident rates. 6. Major factors causing the high accident rates are the poor quality of much road infrastructure and of many vehicles, seriously exacerbated by inadequate maintenance over the last decade, and the rapid increase in motorization in the urban areas of the Region's northwest quadrant with the consequence that many of the drivers are relatively inexperienced. 7. A severe problem is that improving the safety of transport is not seen as an issue of priority by the borrowers. Road safety has been given less emphasis than, for example, issues related to monitoring and reducing the adverse effects of road transport on the environment. Thus developing awareness and understanding of the severity of the problem, and fostering within each country communities of interest that will pursue safety improvement goals is of paramount importance. 8. Bank-assisted road projects in the Region have normally incorporated safety-related engineering measures, such as accident 'black spot' correction programs, improvements of road markings, and installation of dividers and guard rails. A few have included provision of equipment for traffic law enforcement and vehicle inspection. Monitoring of the specific effects of the interventions supported has unfortunately been too weak to say anything definitive about their ultimate effectiveness. 9. There has also been a growing realization of the need for a much broader effort, mobilizing combined and coordinated action from the many parties -- including police, schools, media, medical institutions, car and insurance industries, as well as highway departments -- who have to contribute. Several recent highway projects -- notably in Albania, Armenia, Poland, Romania and Turkey -- are helping to introduce and support comprehensive programs, with participation of all key agencies concerned, to systematically reduce the accident scourge. Similar programs are at earlier stages of development (with Bank assistance) in a number of other countries. Recommendations 10. Since the member countries are at very different stages in recognition of the seriousness of the safety problem, and in commitment to its solution, we need to envisage distinct phases to our assistance and select the phase appropriate to a country's specific circumstances. Thus we should seek:

(i) as a first stage, to promote local awareness of the problem by ensuring wide dissemination of reliable up-to-date basic data on road traffic accidents, the main risk factors causing the accidents, and the health and socio-economic consequences of the accidents; (ii) as a second stage, to encourage interagency consultations and partnerships within the field of road safety, and to undertake road safety audits of limited road sections/networks and specific road project designs; and (iii) as a third stage, initiate road safety improvement programs based on specific country-related road safety analysis. Such programs should promote the quality and use of accident data-bases for

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monitoring impact of road safety actions, implementation of robust high-yield remedial action plans, improving traffic legislation and traffic law enforcement, developing road safety education as well as interagency collaboration in country-specific road safety problem areas.

11. A good approach when looking for strategic means for addressing the growing road safety problems in the ECA region would be to

(i) require that a brief, standardized Road Safety Study, exposing the problems causing the high accident risk, has been carried out prior to any other road safety remedial action; (ii) use available statistics from other countries in the region and the findings of the above study for raising the awareness and the level of commitment to reducing accident risk; (iii) promote establishment of an entity (task force/council) at national level to be responsible for the task of coordinating, monitoring and lobbying road safety issues, to make decision-makers well aware of the problems; (iv) make sure that a national medium- or long-term Road Safety Plan/Program (activity plan) based on a Road Safety Study is created. A safety plan is an absolute prerequisite for achieving systematic sustainable improvement. The plan should be based on targets set for individual activities and general road safety development and be supported by proper sustainable financing; and (v) ensure that road safety, being a pluridisciplinary and multi-agency activity, receives long-term commitment and support from the people participating in creating the country assistance strategy (CAS) within the Region. Improving road safety should not be seen only as a target for specific transport projects. Road safety development could also be a part of the content of other infrastructure and social sector programs/projects. Road safety improvement could also be the sole target of a specific World Bank loan financed project (APL or LIL).

12. It is also important at an early stage to focus on means of securing and strengthening the commitment of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other potential partners to participate in road safety promotion in order to create a strong constituency for sustainable road safety improvements. 13. The EU-Phare program for improving road safety in Central and Eastern European countries provides a challenging forum for developing a partnership and collaboration between the Bank and EU-Phare Programme on Road safety Issues in the ECA region. A seminar of similar nature as the one planned for Phare countries should be arranged for CIS countries as well. Parts of the findings from the studies being undertaken in preparation for the Phare Seminar could prove useful for analyzing and addressing road safety problems in the CIS region.

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1. SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS OVERVIEWS/REVIEWS OF WB EXPERIENCE Initial Guidelines

Awareness within the World Bank of the need to incorporate road safety improving components in transport sector highway projects was raised in the 1970s. A seminar on road safety, sponsored by the Bank and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), was held in May 1979. A note on "Road Safety in Developing Countries: Suggestions for Appraisal" was issued to the Bank staff in September 1979 (Raymond S. Millard, West Africa Highways) and a review of road safety components in World Bank projects was carried out in 1981. Forty-two (42) World Bank projects were identified with direct or indirect impact on road safety. These projects contained a total of 59 road safety components (ref: Road Safety Components in Bank-financed projects, Melody Mason, October 1981).

A further note giving informal guidelines for road safety components in World Bank projects was

issued in December 1982. The principal recommendations were:

(i) in all project components concerned with road construction or improvement, whether urban or rural, the preparatory studies should give explicit consideration to road safety, in particular seeking to segregate pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Where main roads in rural areas run through centers of human habitation, the traffic studies should include collection of data on pedestrian traffic in order to indicate what provision should be made for such traffic separate from the vehicular highway, and (ii) safety intervention programs should be encouraged on a pilot or demonstration basis. Financial support in an amount of up to 5 or even 10 per cent (%) of the Bank loan/credit for highway and urban transport projects (but not more than USD 5 million equivalent) may be considered without ex-ante benefit-cost justification, provided that measures are taken to establish monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the major items.

These new guidelines resulted in a significant increase in road safety related components within the

World Bank-financed highway projects. A further 65 projects with direct or indirect impact on road safety were commenced between 1981 and 1989 containing a total of 173 road safety components. Thus, over the period 1981-1989, the Bank averaged 8 road safety related projects, and 22 road safety components per year. Thirty-six (approx. 60%) of the 65 projects included road safety improvement as a specific objective. In the remainder of the projects, where road safety was an indirect objective, improvements (road safety impacts) were estimated to be achieved as part of traffic engineering, traffic control, and/or traffic management components. Safety related elements included physical engineering measures such as improvement of signals, intersections, or supply of enforcement equipment such as axle weighing scales. It was however at the time considered questionable whether such components should be categorized as road safety measures, but it was concluded that some of them could have an indirect impact on road safety. Twenty-seven projects (approx. 25% of the projects) with road safety elements were located in the EMENA region and 30 projects (approx. 30%) in the Asia region. The expenditures on road safety elements represented in average 5.5% of total project costs for each project. Lessons from Review of Projects Assisted 1981-89

A fundamental problem, when dealing with road safety in developing countries was that not much was known about the impacts of road safety measures. However, attempts were undertaken to evaluate the road safety components within the projects carried out in 1981 - 1989. Some of the most significant conclusions (lessons learned) were as follows:

(i) there was little evidence of the positive results of infrastructure improvements but that this was due to the lack of accident data and adequate monitoring/follow up procedures of improvements. Funds were also in numerous cases diverted to expensive improvement of road sections with poor, "below specified standard" geometric features instead of to cost-efficient improvement of genuine

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hazardous "black spot" locations. Systematic checking that the improvement did, in fact, improve safety was not generally carried out as part of the follow up of the projects even in cases where accident "black spots" were properly identified and suitable countermeasures designed and implemented as civil works. Very little was done in such areas as:

a) verifying that the locations chosen for improvement were indeed accident black spots; b) carrying out before and after studies to gauge the effectiveness of the countermeasures implemented; c) carrying out major research to identify what constitutes effective countermeasures in the traffic environment of individual developing countries; d) establishing procedures for compiling good basic road safety data; e) carrying out formal road safety audit at various stages of design.

(ii) improvement of technical vehicle standards generally required a combination of institutional strengthening, training and technical support. Improvement of regular vehicle inspection could preferably have been implemented and followed up as a pilot project limited to one or a few stations prior to considering further purchasing of inspection equipment and extension of the system. (iii) very little new was learned on the performance in the area of road user education, i.e., actions, such as development of children’s education, driver training and public campaigns. It was however concluded that in order to be successful these activities could best have been undertaken by a national coordinating body. Samples of ideas and material from developed countries could naturally be used but should in such cases be related to local conditions. (iv) changes of highway legislation are in most cases prerequisite when attempting to improve road safety. Such changes could best be made under a National Road Safety Council or an inter-ministerial subcommittee. (v) improving enforcement of road safety related legislation (e.g., speed limits, seat-belt use, drivers' alcohol consumption) could constitute one of the most efficient means of improving road user behavior and consequently road safety. Provision of equipment should be combined with training but required assurance that adequate provision was made in ministry budgets to cover operational costs. In-country training ensures better use of resources and is more cost-efficient than training abroad for large numbers of officials. (vii) provision of ambulances and equipment for rescue services was a reasonably effective alternative for reducing the severity of the consequences of accidents but should be combined with first aid training of the ambulance crew, as well as driver education, to discourage improper attending/transport of accident victims by inexperienced "assistants" on site. (viii) there was no need to develop new systems for accident data collection and analysis. Reasonably simple systems and related data collection forms have been designed to suit the conditions in developing countries and fulfill the requirements related to analysis of the data. More sophisticated systems could be developed later on, once the basic approach and systems consisting of a microcomputer, software and related training by a specialist are in place.

(ix) it generally proved to be more productive to start developing road safety plans with a short initial road safety study to identify key problem areas rather than by conducting comprehensive and lengthy technical assistance assignments.

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(x) significant contribution to road safety could be achieved at marginal cost by introducing systematic safety audit of design at various stages. A systematic review of projects in terms of their road safety impact was also recommended. (xi) sustainability of road safety development could only be achieved if a safety lobby and a coordinating mechanism was established. A National Road Safety Council consisting of representatives from key agencies could be very effective for raising road safety awareness and improving commitment of the Government to deal with road safety problems.

Summarizing the experiences from road safety components within Bank-financed highway projects

carried out globally 1981-1989 we can say that the Bank had learned that:

(i) there was a growing recognition that road safety in developing countries was an important economic and social issue, solution of which was hampered by short supply of resources; (ii) there was a great need to consider ways of incorporating road safety interventions into various types of rural and urban infrastructure projects to cope with the difficulties related to financing road safety activities; (iii) institutional development was prerequisite to assure success in road safety development; (iv) the main strengths of the Bank in road safety issues related to infrastructure improvement, supply of equipment and institutional and human resource development; and (v) the success of the Bank depended to a large extent on the commitment of the Borrowers to:

• Promote activities aimed at reducing accident risks.

• Establish and maintain an operational national coordinating agency for road safety with adequate funding and technical resources at its disposition to carry out road safety studies.

Lessons from Review of Projects Assisted 1989-94

A new study, "Review of World Bank Experience in Road Safety Concerning Motorized and Non-Motorized Traffic (NMT) 1989-1994" was carried out by Finn H Amundsen in 1995. The objectives of this study were to:

i) review the World Bank experience in implementation of projects with road safety and NMT related components; (ii) develop a strategy for improving the Bank's performance in road safety and NMT related lending programs; (iii) establish the need of information required for such projects; (iv) determine the need for training of Bank staff dealing with such projects; and (v) evaluate any improvement achieved since the previous report.

Staff Appraisal Reports (SARs) were screened for road safety components and the process concluded

that one hundred twenty eight (128) of the SARs published between 1989 and 1995 could contain traffic safety or NMT related components. The screening was made based on information from the MIS-key data base (written project summaries) and transport sector reviews of various nature. Eighty-seven of the projects initially thought to be road safety positive (68%) were road and highway projects, sixteen (12.5%) were transport projects, twelve (9.4%) were urban transport projects and thirteen (10.1%) other projects. Eleven (8.6%) of

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above mentioned projects screened to be road safety positive were located in the ECA region. The review indicated that:

• twelve countries could be listed to have proposed Bank financed projects with a substantial (> USD 5 million) traffic safety component in the 1980s. Turkey was the only one listed from the ECA region.

• fifty-eight (45%) of the new projects initially studied include a component with specific traffic

safety objective. Eight (14%) of these projects were located in the ECA region. • seventy (55%) of the new projects initially screened for traffic safety positiveness were found to

produce no specific traffic safety benefits. Three of these projects originated from the ECA region.

The 8 projects located in the ECA region which were found to be traffic safety positive included the

following traffic safety improving activities/elements:

physical engineering improving technical vehicle standard road user education highway legislation enforcement of legislation accident intervention (rescue) data collection and analysis road safety studies institutional strengthening

7 projects 1 project 3 projects 1 project 2 projects 0 projects 3 projects 5 projects 7 projects

Compared to projects in other regions the ECA traffic safety components were found to be more comprehensive with an average of 3.6 traffic safety activities/project than projects Bank-wide which had an average 1.4 - 2.3 traffic safety activities/project for projects prepared 1981-1989 projects and 3.3 for projects prepared 1989-1994. Characteristic for the ECA region was also the relatively high input (25%) in institutional strengthening compared to the input (18%) bank-wide. Projects in countries like Turkey, Romania, Poland and Hungary include comprehensive road safety components and project preparation documents show that road safety development is an essential target of most of the highway sector projects in the ECA region. Comprehensive road safety studies with the aim of establishing a Road Safety Plan (RSP) have been carried out in many ECA countries (e.g., Albania, Armenia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Lithuania).

Studies aimed at revealing to which extent NMT-subcomponents were included in the traffic safety components of the projects reviewed indicate that seventeen (30%) of the 58 road safety positive projects prepared 1989-1994 included activities aimed at improving the safety of NMT. The corresponding number for the projects prepared in 1981-1989 was twenty-two (33%). The modes of NMT-transport covered by the projects prepared 1989-1994 were pedestrians (included in 10 projects), bicyclists (included in 7 projects) and pedal carts (included in 1 project). Addressing safety problems caused by animal drawn transport was not included in any of the projects. Of particular interest could be that no ECA project was included in the list of projects with an NMT-component in spite of the fact that accident statistics indicate that the safety of pedestrians should be a major concern to be addressed by decision makers in most of the CEE and FSU countries.

The review leads us to believe that the Bank's achievements in the field of road safety have improved substantially since the end of the 1980s. We must however keep in mind that the findings of this study to a large extent are based on the response (< 50%) to a questionnaire sent to the Bank transport sector task managers as part of the review procedures and might not give a true picture of the ultimate impact of the Bank involvement as the questionnaire does not cover the clients.

An important observation for the ECA region could however be that the region scored highest on all 4

issues covered in the questionnaire:

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• Boosting technical abilities of the Bank staff. • Raising of awareness in the transport sector. • Improving guidance and information. • Promoting and incorporation of road safety in Bank activities.

The Road Safety Policy Seminar in Bucharest 1994 cosponsored by the Bank was very effective as it

contributed to raising the awareness and understanding of road safety problems among the participants and transferred ideas and know-how from foreign experts to the representatives of participating developing countries from Eastern Europe. The seminar triggered off various activities aimed at improving road safety coordination/development in many of the participant countries.

In spite of the fact that at present 58% of infrastructure projects Bank-wide include a traffic safety component the 1995 review revealed some serious shortcomings:

• The MIS-data does not cover the transport (urban and rural) projects very well. • There is no simple, standard format for an annex describing road safety components of the staff

appraisal report (SAR), now project appraisal document (PAD) • There is no systematic follow-up of performance (reduction of accident risk), learning from

successful projects and establishing good practices relating to road traffic accident risk management, i.e., monitoring, and assuring continuity of, road safety development.

• There is no standard method for establishing the costs of accidents. • There are no guidelines on road safety appraisals and road safety audits within Bank financed

projects. • Accident data are often substantially out-of-date and inaccurate.

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2. ROAD SAFETY: A RAPIDLY GROWING GLOBAL HEALTH AND ECONOMY PROBLEM

Annually more than 700,000 (some estimate >1 million) people are killed worldwide in road traffic accidents and the number of injured is likely to be above 10 million. The developing countries are suffering a disproportionate share (>70%) of the road accident death toll. The socio-economic costs of the road traffic accidents are estimated to exceed USD 500 billion

• North America (US and Canada) USD 200 billion • EU-countries USD 200 billion • ECA-countries USD 22 billion • South America (incl. Mexico) USD 30 billion • Africa USD 20 billion • Asia USD 50 billion

If estimated in terms of "disability adjusted life years" (DALYS), we find that the global loss each year

exceeds 30 million DALYS. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has evaluated the reduction in a persons ability to perform everyday functions caused by road traffic accidents and arrived at the conclusion that an average of 1.6 million life years are lost each year due to motor vehicle accident deaths in the USA while another 1.7 million life years are lost due to motor vehicle accident injuries (accidents 1993-1996).

The annual number of motor vehicle accident fatalities in the 15 EU member states was approximately 45,000 in 1995 and persons injured exceeded 3,500,000 (500,000 seriously and three million lightly injured). The "hard economic costs" resulting from medical expenses, emergency intervention, damage to property and loss of economic output were estimated to exceed USD 50 billion annually in the EU. The socio-economic costs of road accidents amounted to more than twice the entire EU-budget. Current figures indicate that, on average, 1 in 80 European citizens will end their lives 40 years due to a fatal accident, and one in three European citizens will need hospital treatment during their lifetime as a result of a road accident. In its new program "Promoting Road Safety in the EU, The Program for 1997-2001" which was debated and approved by the EU Commission in Strassbourg in April 1997, the EU proposes actions which would reduce the annual number of fatalities by at least 7,000 by the year 2000, progressing to 18,000 (40%) by the year 2010. Subsequently, the number of accidents causing injuries and damage to property would also be substantially reduced. We also know that:

• The cost of road accidents exceeds the costs of congestion and all the environmental effects of road traffic.

• Road accidents result in greater productivity loss than incidents of lung cancer. • Road accidents are now the leading cause of death among the 3 to 35-year old population group. • Road accidents result in more disabling injuries than any other type of accident or illness. • the World Health Organization (WHO) considers road fatalities and road accident-related injuries

to be a leading health care concern in the world today.

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3. ROAD SAFETY IN INDIVIDUAL ECA COUNTRIES -- ACCIDENT STATISTICS AND TRENDS, SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACCIDENT COSTS, LESSONS LEARNED AND PLANNED WORLD BANK SUPPORT TO ROAD SAFETY DEVELOPMENT

The accident statistics and the trends for individual countries are based on the information that is available with the IRF. In most cases it covers the time period 1990 - 1995. Updated information has been available from countries where studies have been carried out during the preparation of highway transport projects. The statistics draw a worrying picture. Accidents per thousand road vehicles are multiples of those in OECD countries: nearly twice the EU average in the ten Accession countries, for example, and more than five times the EU level in the CIS countries. Some countries have shown some improvement since 1990 but in most of them, this is believed to reflect more a reduction of transport volumes (connected with falls in output and incomes in the early years of transition from centrally planned to market economy) than the beginning of sustained improvement. Major factors causing the high accident rates are the poor quality of much road infrastructure and of many vehicles, exacerbated by inadequate maintenance in recent years, and the rapid increase in motorization in the urban areas of the Region's northwest quadrant with the consequence that many of the drivers are relatively inexperienced. In some of the countries with the highest accident rates, public opinion and Government still find it hard to mobilize much effort for solving this problem among the multitude of problems they face. The picture is changing and concern is rising. But Governments then face at least equally difficult problems of bringing about effective day-to-day cooperation among the many different parties, public and private, who need to combine efforts to bring about safer driving. Accident reports and road safety studies show that, on average, some 30-40% of all persons killed in road traffic accidents in the region are pedestrians or other Non-Motorized Traffic. Two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities, and around 80% of the injuries to pedestrians, occur in urban traffic environment. Urban areas account for between 45 and 65 percent (depending on the country) of all serious road traffic accidents.

The annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents have been estimated using the approach outlined in the EU Commission Green Paper, "Towards Fair and Efficient Pricing in Transport" taking into account the direct costs of road accidents (approx. 10%), the value of lost economic output (approx. 20%) and the costs in pain and suffering (approx. 70%) evaluated through the willingness to pay principle. A cost of USD 1.5 million for a fatality, and USD 150,000 for an accident causing severe injury was estimated for a country with the quality of life attained in Europe with a per capita GNP equivalent to about USD 20,000 p.a. For purposes of the present study, these basic costs have been adjusted to the prevailing level of GDP/capita in the concerned country. Thus the cost of a fatality in Lithuania (GDP/capita= USD 1,900) would be 1,900/20,000 x USD 1.5 million = USD 142,500 and the costs of an accident causing a severe injury USD 14,250.

Each ECA country has been analyzed and the findings are as follows: ALBANIA

Road safety is a serious problem in Albania although the rate of car ownership is only 21 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants. The number of fatalities increased rapidly from a total of 145 in 1990 to 411 in 1994 . A turn for the better was registered for 1995 with 306 fatalities and a total of 639 reported injury accidents. The fatality rate in Albania is however still by far the highest in Europe

• 27.8 fatalities/10,000 vehicles annually

• 9.6 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants

The corresponding numbers for EU, the Nordic countries and the 6 CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts in 1992 are:

• 3.8 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (average of all EU member states)

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• 2.0 ” ” ” (average of 4 Nordic countries 1996) • 9.1 ” ” ” (average of 6 CEE countries in 1992) • 14.5 ” /100,000 inhab. (average of all EU member states) • 7.9 ” ” ” (average of 4 Nordic countries) • 14.7 ” ” ” (average for the 6 CEE countries) The annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Albania are:

• USD 25 million, i.e., approx. 1.2% of GDP (USD 2.1 billion).

The extremely high severity rate of 1 fatality/2 injuries gives us reason to believe that injury accidents

could be substantially underreported.

Statistics show that the number of road accident fatalities in Albania was reduced by some 24% from 1994 to 1995. This reduction could partly be credited to specific road safety promoting activities carried out recently on national level:

• Increased enforcement of traffic regulations by the police. • Raised GOA awareness of road safety problems and appointment of a national road safety advisor. • Improved training of new drivers. • Improved vehicle inspection (new inspection station financed by EU-Phare).

World Bank Experience: The Bank's past experience from promoting road safety in Albania is limited to a comprehensive Road Safety Study which was carried out as part of the Bank-financed Transport Project. We can assume that the findings of the study raised the awareness of road safety problems which triggered off the activities producing the positive development registered in 1994-1995 (appointment of a Road Safety Advisor and reduced accident numbers). The Transport Project also provided financing through EU-Phare for a pilot Vehicle Inspection Station.

The planned IDA-financed Albania National Roads Project provides continuation of the support for traffic safety and the implementation of the "National Road Safety Program." The project provides financing for physical road improvements, provision of enforcement equipment for the police, safety related signalization equipment and material as well as technical assistance (training of road safety staff). ARMENIA

The traffic safety situation in Armenia is critical as it is apparent that some 4,500 people have been killed and some 15,000 injured in road traffic accidents during the 10 years from 1987 to 1996. There was a peak in road traffic accident fatalities as well as injuries in 1990. After this the numbers of accidents totally as well as the numbers of fatalities and injuries dropped steadily (average 15% annually) until 1994. The situation turned worse after 1994 when a substantial increase (>20%) in the number of fatalities as well as in injuries was recorded in both 1995 and 1996. The fatality rate is extremely high:

• 12.1 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1996) • 11.5 fatalities/100.000 inhabitants •

compared to the average 3.8 fatalities/10,000 vehicles for EU member states, 2.0 for the Nordic countries and 9.1 for the six CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts prior to the Road Safety Policy Seminar in 1994. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is slightly lower than the average 14.5 for EU-member states and 14.9 for the six CEE countries but high taking into account the low ownership of vehicles 76 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants. It is substantially higher than the 7.9 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants for the 4 Nordic countries (average vehicle ownership 400 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants)

The estimated annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Armenia are:

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• USD 50 million, i.e., 1.7% of GDP (USD 3.0 billion)

The severity of accidents (1 fatality/3.9 injured) is very high compared to the EU-member states (1 fatality/8 seriously injured and 1 fatality/34 injured total) but could also be an indication of a substantial degree of underreporting of injury accidents. World Bank Experience: A comprehensive Road Safety Study was carried out in 1996-1997 during preparation of the Armenia Highway Project. A Road Safety Plan and a 5-year Road Safety Program were drafted and a First National Armenian Road Safety Conference was arranged. A road safety declaration was approved for application by the representatives for the agencies participating in the conference. The proposed 5-year road safety program addresses the following road safety areas:

• coordination of road safety activities • accident data systems • engineering • legislation and enforcement • education and publicity (campaigns) • driver training and testing of drivers • technical vehicle condition (inspection) • post accident assistance (rescue service) • road traffic safety research • monitoring and evaluation of road safety development

The study is estimated to trigger off a good development of road safety in Armenia provided the

required financing for implementation of the 5 year Road Safety Program is made available and a Road Safety Council is established and maintained to coordinate road safety activities. AZERBAIJAN

The road safety situation in Azerbaijan is extremely poor. The number of annual fatalities (some 1,100) and injuries (some 3,300) have been reduced slightly (approx. 10%) from 1991 to 1994 but are still extremely high taking into account the low rate of car ownership approx. 62 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants. The fatality rates are:

• 24 fatalities/10,000 vehicles annually • 16 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants

The rate of fatalities/10,000 vehicles is extremely high compared to the averages 3.8 fatalities/10,000

vehicles for EU member states, 2.0 fatalities/10,000 vehicles for 4 Nordic countries, 9.1 fatalities/10,000 vehicles for 6 CEE countries and also higher than 16.4 fatalities/10,000 vehicles for Russia. The rate of fatalities/100,000 inhabitants is slightly higher than the average 14.5 for EU-member states. The annual rate of injuries is:

• 104 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1994)

This is 2-3 times higher than the rate of injuries in most of the EU-member states. It is on the same level as the injury rate in Russia (100 injuries/10,000 vehicles). The estimated annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Azerbaijan are

• approx. USD 50 million, i.e., 1.6 % of the GDP (USD 3.8 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience from implementation of road safety components in Azerbaijan.

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BELARUS

The road safety situation in Belarus is poor with 1,781 fatalities and 7,457 injuries as a consequence of road traffic accidents in 1995. Statistics indicate that the amount of serious accidents causing fatalities and injuries has however been quite substantially (some 20%) reduced since 1991. The main part of the reduction was recorded during 2 years (1992 and 1993). The number of fatalities has since then grown by 7% from 1994 to 1995 and the number of injuries by some 2%. Accident statistics indicate that the annual rates of fatalities and injuries are:

• 19.7 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1995) • 17.7 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 82 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1995)

The rates are more or less comparable to those for Russia (16.4 fatalities/10,000 vehicles, 19

fatalities/100,000 inhabitants and 100 injuries/ 10,000 vehicles) but are still considerably higher than the average rates for CEE countries and extremely high compared to those of the majority of EU-member states.

The estimated annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Belarus are:

• approx. USD 380 million, i.e., 1.5 % of the GDP (USD 25 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no experience in road traffic safety development in Belarus. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

The Bank has no statistical information relating to the road safety situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bank has not previously been involved in activities aimed at developing traffic safety. The present Emergency Transport Reconstruction Project provides traffic safety equipment and urgent repairs to the streets in the cities. Safety equipment will be provided for USD 0.8 million. BULGARIA

Bulgaria was one of the CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts in 1992-1993. The road safety situation in Bulgaria is poor with 1,264 fatalities and 8,717 injuries as a consequence of road traffic accidents in 1995. The number of fatalities has been slightly reduced (2 %) since 1992 but the number of injuries has grown (6 %). The rates of fatalities and injuries are:

• 5 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1995) • 16.4 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 46 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1995)

The fatality rate is high compared to the averages 3.8 fatalities/10,000 vehicles and 14.5

fatalities/100,000 inhabitants for EU but the fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is considerably lower than the average 9.1 fatalities/10,000 vehicles for the 6 CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is slightly higher than the average for the 6 CEE countries. The rate of injuries is not high compared to the rate in many EU-countries but the high severity rate (fatalities/injuries=1/3.3) gives us reasons to believe that the number of injuries is too low due to underreporting of such accidents. The estimated annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 220 million, i.e., 2.1 % of the GDP (USD 10.6 billion)

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World Bank Experience: The Bank’s experience in promoting road safety in Bulgaria is limited to the Road Safety Study carried out in connection with the preparation of the Bank sponsored Road Safety Policy Seminar in 1994. CROATIA

Traffic safety statistics indicate that some 800 people were killed and 17,665 injured in road traffic accidents in 1995. The annual number of fatalities has been reduced by some 20% (220 fatalities/year) since 1991 but the number of injuries has increased by some 11% (1,800 injuries/year). The fatality rate is:

• 8.1 fatalities/10,000 vehicles • 16.0 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 176 injuries/10,000 vehicles

All rates are high compared to those of average EU-member states. The estimated annual socio-

economic costs of road traffic accidents in Croatia are:

• approx. USD 450 million, i.e., 2.7% of the GDP (USD 16.3 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has very little previous experience from promoting road safety activities in Croatia. The Government of Croatia views the high accident rates with deep concern and has established a Committee for Traffic Safety and a National Road Safety Council and drafted a Road Safety Plan. The current Highway Sector Project provides technical assistance (6 man months) for a comprehensive review of the Road Safety Plan and improvement of the accident data to be included in the Road Data Base. CZECH REPUBLIC The Czech Republic was included in the list of CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts in 1992-1993. Traffic safety statistics indicate that some 1,560 were killed and 37,000 injured in road traffic accidents in 1995. The number of fatalities has been reduced by some 10% (220 fatalities) since 1991 but the number of injuries has remained at 1991 level. The annual fatality and injury rates are:


The fatality rate is 10% higher than the average for EU-member states but more than double the

average for the Nordic countries. The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is however substantially (> 50%) lower than the average for many neighboring CEE countries. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is slightly higher than the average for the CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group. The estimated annual socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in the Czech Republic are

• approx. USD 1.0 billion, i.e., 2.6 % of GDP (USD 38.7 billion)

World Bank Experience: The Bank's previous experience from promoting road safety improvement in the Czech Republic is limited to the studies carried out when preparing for the Traffic Safety Policy Seminar in 1994. ESTONIA

Statistics indicate that some 1,300 serious accidents occurred in 1997 causing the death of 280 people and injuries to 1,837. The accident numbers have started to grow since 1996. The number of fatalities has

15

increased by some 36% and the number of injuries by some 18% but both are still slightly lower than in 1994. The fatality and injury rates are:

• 5.5 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1997) • 19.3 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 45.6 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1997)

The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is still high compared to the averages of EU (3.8 fatalities/10,000

vehicles) and the Nordic countries (2 fatalities/10,000 vehicles) but slightly lower than the fatality rate in many other CEE countries. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is at a similar level as the averages for EU-member countries and the 6 CCE countries but can still be considered high taking into account the rate of car ownership (some 295 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants). The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 100 million, i.e., 2.4 % of GDP (USD 4.3 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has initiated as well as supported road safety studies that have been carried out in Estonia. These studies have been financed both bilaterally and by EU-Phare. Bilateral assistance aimed at improving road safety has been provided from the Nordic countries. The Bank-supported assistance has resulted in the promotion of numerous low-cost traffic safety improving actions, e.g. reducing speed in urban areas, mandatory use of seat belts, improving vehicle inspection as well as raising the efficiency of periodic and routine road maintenance. These low-cost activities reduced the fatality and injury rates temporarily but the good development has not been sustained. Twinning between the Estonian Road Administration and the Road Administration in Finland has provided transfer of know-how to some extent. A new Bank-financed Transport Project would include improvement of road safety as part of the reconstruction of sections of the Tallinn-Tartu road and elimination of critical accident black spots on the main road network. The project would also support further institutional road safety development taking into account the requirements expressed in the Phare financed study completed in 1997. GEORGIA

Statistics indicate that some 500 people were killed and 2,000 injured in road traffic accidents in 1995. The reduction in fatalities since 1991 is 56% and the reduction in number of injuries is approx. 40%. The reduction in accident numbers is evidently purely a consequence of the extremely high reduction of traffic volumes due to reduced agriculture and industrial activities in many parts of the country. The road network in Georgia is today in poor shape and work on the road system was practically non-existent before the start of the ongoing highway rehabilitation project. The fatality and injury rates are:

• 12 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1995) • 9.8 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 48 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1995)

The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is extremely high compared to the averages of EC-member states,

the Nordic countries and also those of CEE countries. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is considerably lower than the averages for EU and the 6 CEE countries. All rates are considerably lower than those of Russia but some might be distorted due to underreporting. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 25 million, i.e., 1.1 % of GDP (USD 2.4 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience from developing road safety in Georgia. The Transport Rehabilitation Project provides general TA for the road transport sector and financing for a road recovery program (road repair, equipment and spare parts). Road Safety improvement is mentioned as a benefit of the project but the SAR does not show any specific activities aimed at reducing the high risk of severe traffic accidents or development of the institutional framework within the road safety field. Georgia has no National Road Safety Council and the level of awareness of Road Safety risk and of commitment to reduce traffic

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accident risk factors is evidently still low among decision makers. It was interesting to note that the Transport Rehabilitation Project will provide financial support for control of emission from vehicles but pays no attention to the problems relating to monitoring of the traffic safety of vehicles. We have no records indicating how many severe accidents are caused by "faulty vehicles" in Georgia but based on the established fact that poor technical vehicle condition is the main cause for approx. 28% of all severe accidents in Russia we should have reasons to believe that poor vehicle condition is a major safety problem in Georgia as well. HUNGARY

Hungary was one of the 6 CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts in 1992-1993. The aim of the study was to collect road traffic safety related data/information and use it as background material to be debated at the Road Safety Policy Seminar in Bucharest in 1994. Hungarian road traffic accident history shows that the amount of accidents causing fatalities or injuries to the victims had stabilized at an already extremely unfavorably high level of 19,000 accidents annually in the early and middle part of the 1980s. In 1987 the number of accident started to grow and in 1990 accidents and casualties reached dimensions never experienced before in Hungary. The number of fatalities had reached a level of 2,432 and 36,996 persons were seriously or slightly injured in 27,801 accidents (increase of 50% since 1987). Similar dramatic deterioration was also recorded in Czechoslovakia and Poland. This deterioration coincided with the period of transition to a democratic social system and market economy. The causes for the increase in accident risk has been explained as:

• abrupt ceasing of limitations characteristic of the old political and social system; liberalization of

motor vehicle import; • opening of borders; • indisposition of the traffic police to be present and enforce rules/regulations.

Neither governmental organizations nor public opinion did however at the time pay much attention to

the growing problems relating to road safety. The growth of traffic volumes, if estimated by growth of vehicle ownership, was approximately some 10% per year but evidently the amount of vehicle mileage grew at a higher rate.

In 1991 the number of severe road accidents and the number of fatalities dropped by some 12-13%. In 1992 the accident rates remained more or less unchanged. It was assumed that a temporary reduction in traffic volumes at the time contributed to the favorable traffic safety development in 1991. In 1993 both the number and severity of accidents were further reduced by some 20%. The number of accidents increased slightly (by 6%) in 1994 but the number of fatalities were further reduced by some 7% . The number of fatalities started to grow in 1995 but the number of injuries was still slightly reduced. During the period from 1990 to 1994 the number of fatalities caused by road accidents was reduced by some 35%. The corresponding reduction of fatalities per vehicle kilometers and fatalities per registered vehicles was 37.4% and 41.2%.

Statistics show that 1,597 people were killed in road traffic accidents in 1995 and 27,580 people were injured. The rates of road traffic accident fatalities and injuries in Hungary are:


The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is still high in spite of the reduction since 1990 considerably

higher than the average rate for EU-member states (3.8 fatalities/10,000 vehicles) and the Nordic countries (2.0 fatalities/10,000 vehicles) but lower than the corresponding rate for most CEE countries. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is also high. The injury rate is high compared to other CEE countries as well as compared to EU- member states taking into account the level of car ownership (250 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants) in Hungary. The socio-economic costs of road accidents in Hungary are:

17

• approx. USD 1,400 million, i.e., 3.0 % of GDP (USD 42 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has actively supported development of safety within the road transport sector in Hungary by facilitating numerous trips abroad for studying traffic safety issues and developing a strategy of transport safety, providing financing for road investment (construction and rehabilitation) and recommendations relating to preparing a National Road Safety Program as well as by being the driving force behind the Road Safety Study in the 6 CEE countries in 1992-1993 and the Road Safety Policy Seminar in Budapest 1994. These activities, the studies and related findings have raised the awareness of road safety risk factors and increased related know-how significantly in Hungary and subsequently triggered off national and local decisions to carry out numerous low cost accident countermeasures in order to address the risk factors causing the growth of accident numbers and severity Experienced in the late 1980s. The activities which were carried out in connection with implementing the first National Road Safety Program were:

• introduction of 50 km/h speed limits in built-up urban areas • other measures of traffic calming • compulsory use of daytime running lights throughout the year • intensive safety publicity arrangements (campaigns and information) • intensified enforcement of new traffic legislation • visible presence of the traffic police • intensified traffic safety information in schools to specified age groups

The 1994 Road Safety Policy Seminar contributed to further national development within the road

safety sector in Hungary:

• establishing of an Inter-ministerial Road Safety Committee • improvement of accident data collection and the accident data bank • research and studies relating to national economy losses caused by accidents • improved driver’s training and use of probationary period applied for licenses • elaboration of a point merit system for drivers • training in methodology of identifying and eliminating black spots • financing of elimination of accident black spots (the next Bank loan) • introduction of insurance company financing for road safety

In spite of the extremely good road safety development in Hungary, there are also indications that

everything that has been carried out so far with the support of the Bank to improve the traffic environment has not been 100% successful. The opening of the Budapest Beltway M0 did in fact improve the flow and safety of traffic in the Budapest region substantially but we are also informed that accident numbers and severity of accidents along the M0 are growing in spite of the Road Safety Audit (RSA) of the design that was carried out. There is always a need to follow up on the RSA to enable us to eliminate the accident risk factors that often are creating new accident black spots on highways being improved. KAZAKHSTAN

Statistics show a positive trend relating to both the risk and the severity of road traffic accidents in Kazakhstan. A recent study carried out as part of the preparation for a future Bank-financed Road Project shows that the annual number of fatalities has been reduced by some 40% since 1992, the number of injuries by some 27% and the total amount of registered accidents by some 30%. The amount of people killed in road traffic accidents in 1996 was 2,732 and 14,144 were injured. The severity of accidents measured in deaths/100 injured is extremely high (21.3). The car ownership rate is very low with 74 vehicles to 1,000 inhabitants. Pedestrians are victims in 49% of all traffic accidents and 78% of the fatalities caused by traffic accidents in Almaty (1.6 million inhabitants) are pedestrians. Thirteen per cent (13%) of the victims killed are children of age 13 and below. Unlicensed drivers cause 19% and drunken drivers 14% of the accidents causing fatalities. Some 33% of the severe accidents occur in urban areas and 70% in rural traffic environment. The fatality and injury rates in Kazakhstan are very high.

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The rates of fatalities and injuries per 10,000 vehicles are almost twice the corresponding rates for

Russia. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Kazakhstan are:

• approx. USD 450 million, i.e., 2.0 % of GDP (USD 23 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience in developing road traffic safety in Kazakhstan. The proposed Bank-financed project would include a road safety component supporting the implementation of a Road Safety Program of Action in the amount of USD 2.6 million. This component is planned to provide financing for:

• technical assistance USD 830,000 • equipment and material USD 1,800,000 • civil works USD 750,000

The Kazakhstan Urban Transport Project puts some emphasis on the safety of passengers in buses does

not address the true risk factors relating to the infrastructure (bus stops, etc.) and behavior of passengers. KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

Statistics indicate a positive trend in the development of number of fatalities and injuries caused by road traffic accidents since 1991. The number of fatalities has been reduced by some 50% from 1991 to 1994 and the number of injuries correspondingly by some 40%. The number of fatalities recorded in 1996 were 663 (an increase of 10% since 1994) and the number of injuries were 4,042 (an increase of 18% since 1994). The fatality and injury rates are:


All rates are high and the fatality and injury rates per 10,000 vehicles are almost double the average

rates in the 6 CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group prior to the 1994 Road Safety Policy Seminar in Bucharest. The fatality rate is 4 times the average fatality rate for EU-member states. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in the Kyrgyz republic are:

• approx. USD 70 million, i.e., 2.2% of GDP (USD 3.2 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience related to improving road traffic safety in the Kyrgyz Republic. Studies carried out by the Bank social sector indicate that availability and safety of transport for the poor is a major problem. LATVIA

The road safety situation in Latvia is one of the worst among the former East European socialist countries. Road accidents are a serious threat to pedestrians, young people and the elderly. Poor road safety is considered to be a major health problem in Latvia. A study on road safety carried out as part of the EU-Phare Master Plan for maintenance, development and operation of the road network and a highway safety program for Latvia indicates that the priority areas of road safety improvement are:

• pedestrian safety

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• intensified enforcement of rules and regulations • vehicle and driver safety

Calculations of rates of return presented in the study indicate that ”intensified enforcement” gives the

best rate of return on a short base. The second highest rate of return would be achieved within the priority area "pedestrian safety." Road traffic accident statistics show that the number of fatalities has dropped steadily, with the exception of a slight increase in 1994, from 877 in 1990 to 550 in 1996, i.e., by some 37%. Correspondingly, the number of injuries has been reduced from 4,987 in 1990 to 4324 in 1996, i.e., by some 13%. Statistics for the first 3 quarters of 1997 indicate a further reduction in fatalities by some 9% but an increase in the number of injuries by 13% . The rates of fatalities and injuries are:


All rates are extremely high compared to the averages for EU-member states but are also almost

double the present average rates for the 6 CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group prior to the Seminar in Bucharest. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 175 million, i.e., 3% of GDP (USD 5.8 billion) World Bank Experience: The Government of Latvia began to organize the monitoring of road safety issues by establishing a Road Safety Directorate in 1992 to carry the responsibility for road safety improvement. A National Road Traffic Safety Council was later established to co-ordinate the activities of State Administration and Municipal Institutions; to co-ordinate the improvement and implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Program; to consider proposals and make decisions on activities aimed at improving road safety; to give conclusions on draft legal documents; and to make decisions on coordinating work with the mass media.

In the Latvia Highway Project the Bank supports traffic safety development by advising the established institutions in road safety issues and by including a road safety component composed of Technical Assistance (bilateral or CTF financing) for providing the know-how and tools for identification, analysis and elimination of accident black spots and a program of civil works in black spot locations. The value of the black spot elimination program financed by the Bank within the highway project is USD 1.8 million. EU-Phare has financed road safety studies and will also co-finance a specific USD 4.3 million road safety civil works program to eliminate accident black spots in one specific region along Via Baltica. LITHUANIA

The road safety situation in Lithuania is poor but is gradually improving. The total number of serious accidents has been reduced by some 11% to 4,579 accidents between 1990 and 1996, the number of fatalities has dropped by some 29% to 667 fatalities and the number of injuries by some 5% to 5,223. A National Road Safety Council was established to carry the duties of coordinating all road safety activities. Preparation of proposals to improve road safety and the development of a Road Safety Program was previously the duty of the Division for Environment and Road Safety (DERS) but the overall responsibility for road safety development was recently shifted to the Lithuanian Road Administration (LRA). The Road Safety Division at LRA is gradually getting organized to handle these new duties. Specific road safety activities (excluding civil works) are financed through an allocation of 1% (approx. USD 900,000/year) from the annual Road Fund proceeds to a specific fund for Road Safety.

The fatality and injury rates caused by road traffic accidents are:

• 9.6 fatalities/10.000 vehicles (1996) • 17.8 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 76 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1996)

20

The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is approximately 2.5 times the average for EU-member states but

only slightly above the average for the 6 CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is extremely high. The injury rate is high as well compared to many CEE countries with the corresponding rate of car ownership. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Lithuania are:

• approx. USD 200 million, i.e., 2.9 % of GDP (USD 7 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has developed a close cooperation with the LRA in the field of road safety and has provided useful advice relating to institutional development as well as terms of reference for technical assistance to be financed by EU-Phare and bilateral partners. Civil works aimed at eliminating black spots are being carried out within the Lithuania Highway Project since 1997. The Bank assisted in finding bilateral financing for technical assistance which has transferred the know-how and provided tools for black spot identification, analysis and elimination to the client. The black spot elimination program will substantially reduce the accident risk in black spot locations. MACEDONIA, FYR

The road safety situation in Macedonia FYR is poor and is deteriorating. Accident statistics show that the number of fatalities caused by road traffic accidents has increased slightly (3%) since 1991 and was reported to be 179 fatalities in 1995. The number of injuries is reported to have increased by 15% and was 3,421 in 1995. The car ownership rate is approx. 160 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants. The rates of fatalities and injuries are:


Both the fatality and the injury rate per 10,000 vehicles are high compared to the corresponding

average for EU-member states. Both are however lower than the corresponding averages for CEE countries. The rate of fatalities/100,000 inhabitants is very high taking into account the vehicle ownership. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 40 million, i.e., 2.1 % of GDP (USD 1.9 billion)

World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience with road safety development in Macedonia, FYR. The SAR for the Transit Facilitation Project shows that 2/3 of all accidents occur in urban environment. The Project facilitates civil works and equipment/material for reconstruction and takes note of the accident risk but does not propose any assistance for institutional development. MOLDOVA

Statistics indicate that the number of fatalities and injuries caused by road traffic accidents in Moldova are extremely high taking into account the low rate of vehicle ownership 43 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants. The number of fatalities registered in 1995 was 544 and the number of injuries 3069. The numbers dropped sharply (by some 50-60%) from 1991 to 1993 but have again increased from 1993 to 1995 (28% for fatalities and 13% for injuries. The fatality and injury rates are:

• 34.4 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1995) • 12.1 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 156 injuries/10,000 vehicles

The fatality and injury rates/10,000 vehicles are extremely high compared to the averages for the EU-

member states as well as the averages for CEE countries. The amount of fatalities/100,000 inhabitants is also high taking into account the low vehicle ownership. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

21

• approx. USD 80 million, i.e., 2% of GDP (USD 4.1 billion)

World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience with road safety development in Moldova. POLAND

Poland was one of the countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road traffic safety experts prior to the Road Safety Policy seminar in Budapest 1994. Recent studies show that the number of road traffic accidents is still very high in Poland. Some 57,900 accidents with 6,359 fatalities and 71,419 serious injuries to the victims were recorded in 1996. Approximately 13 fatalities occurred per 100 road accidents, while in EU-member states the average is slightly over 3. The number of fatalities has however decreased by some 19 % since 1991 but the number of injuries has increased by approx. 10%. The rates of fatalities and injuries in Poland are:

• 6.3 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1996) • 16.3 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 70.2 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1996)

The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is lower than the average for CEE countries but still almost twice

as high as the average rate of EU-member states. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is very high taking into account the vehicle ownership 262 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants. The injury rate is close to the average for CEE countries but substantially (some 50%) higher than the corresponding rates for Bulgaria and Romania. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Poland are:

• approx. USD 2.9 billion, i.e., 2.7 % of GDP (USD 109 billion) World Bank Experience: Poland established a National Road Safety Council and a secretariat in 1993. A National Road Safety Unit and Regional Road Safety Councils in all Voivoidships were established in 1994. The Bank involvement in road traffic safety development has so far been limited to (i) carrying out the road safety study in 1992-1993; and (ii) supporting the development of a comprehensive Road Safety Program (GAMBIT). The proposed Roads II Project would continue support for implementation of GAMBIT by providing:

• technical assistance and training for road safety sector agencies • equipment, vehicles and material for road safety • civil works on priority roads sections and bypasses • equipment, vehicles and material for road maintenance

There is good cooperation between the Traffic Police and the Road Authorities in Poland but there is a

need for strong road safety lobbying to improve the priority rating and secure substantial increase in the funding of road safety activities for all agencies involved. The establishing of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and the Road Safety Unit (RSU) within the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Economy (MTME). improved the co-ordination and monitoring of road safety development. The collaboration between NRSC and RSU have resulted in several important decisions aimed at reducing road traffic accident risks, e.g.:

• lowering of speed limits in urban built up areas from 60km/h to 50 km/h • compulsory use of seat belts • mandatory use of running lights in the daytime throughout the year • introduction of a new Road Traffic Code to be enforced by the police

ROMANIA

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Romania was one of the 6 countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts prior to the Road Safety Policy Seminar in Bucharest in 1994. The seminar triggered off the establishing of an Inter-ministerial Council for Road Safety (ICRS) in 1995, chaired by the Minister of Transport. In addition, six Special Road Safety Commissions have been appointed for individual activities within the road safety field and later a secretariat SICRS) for monitoring road safety activities and preparing the meetings of the ICRS. A substantial increase in vehicle ownership and subsequently traffic volumes has been registered in Romania. Vehicle ownership has increased by some 66% from 1990 to 1996 and is still growing rapidly. The amount of licensed drivers has increased by some 60% during the same time. There was a peak in the number of fatalities (3,782 killed in road traffic accidents) in 1990. The number of fatalities dropped to 3,078 in 1991. After 1991, the fatalities have gradually dropped to the present level of 2,846 fatalities in 1997. The reduction from 1991 is some 8% (232 fatalities). The annual amount of severe injuries has increased steadily from 6,137 in 1990 to 8,198 in 1994 (26%) but has later been reduced to 7,461 in 1997 (reduction by some 9% since 1994). The fatality and injury rates in Romania are:

• 7.9 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1997) • 12.4 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 20.8 injuries/10,000 vehicles (severe/1997)

The severity index (fatalities/100 casualties) is 27.6 which is very high but is explained by the fact that

the injuries reported are severe injuries (light injuries excluded). The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is extremely high and twice the average of the EU-member states. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is approx. 20% lower than the averages for EU and the 6 CEE countries. The total number of road traffic accidents was reported to have been some 165,000 in 1997. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Romania are:

• approx. USD 600 million, i.e., 1.8 % of GDP (USD 33 billion) World Bank Experience: The Romania Transport Project provided procurement and installation of 40 vehicle inspection lines which are now operated under the supervision of the Romanian Automobile Registry (RAR). The Inter-ministerial Council for Road Safety (ICRS) and a permanent secretariat (SICRS) were established in 1995 and 1996. The ICRS has approved a preliminary Priority Actions Program for traffic safety based on the proposals of the 6 Special Traffic Safety Commissions but implementation is hampered by the lack of financing. A proposal for a new Road Code has been submitted to the Parliament for approval. The Romania Seconds Roads Project includes a comprehensive USD 24.1 million road traffic safety component consisting of:

• general technical assistance for road safety development • a municipal and a rural road safety pilot project • equipment for testing vehicles and safety accessories • equipment for law enforcement • equipment for the SICRS for monitoring traffic safety • equipment and material for traffic safety education and driver training • technical assistance for black spot identification, studies and elimination • a black spot civil works program

The implementation of essential parts of the traffic safety component is delayed due to unavailability

of EU-Phare program financing for the traffic safety component of the Romania Second Roads Project. RUSSIA

The road safety situation in Russia is poor and is deteriorating despite the reported drop in average travelling speed due to congestion and deterioration of the surfaces of the main highways. Today the roads in Russia carry 1.3-3 times their designed capacity and there is a backlog of both routine and periodic maintenance. There are more than 500 severe accidents/day in which more than 80 people are killed and approximately 500 injured. A main cause for the great number of accidents is poor infrastructure and poor

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vehicle condition. Sixty per cent (60%) of the fatalities are of age 16 - 40 years and more than 3,000 children are disabled annually as a consequence of traffic accidents. Recent statistics indicate that 27,665 people were killed in road traffic accidents and 177,924 were injured in 1997. Accident history however shows a substantial reduction in fatalities (25%), in injuries (17%) and in total number of accidents (11%) since 1992. Part of this reduction may be credited to the implementation of traffic safety measures as part of the 1996-1998 Federal Program "Ensuring Traffic Safety on Russian Roads." This Federal Program contains "hot measures" aimed at stabilizing the risk level during a period of 3 years. A conception and work program 2010 is being developed by the Road Transport Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport on federal level. Preliminary studies indicate that:

• some 52% of the severe accidents occur in urban traffic environment; • some 16 % of the fatalities are caused by drunk driving; • some 28% of the severe accidents involve technically faulty vehicles; • some 11% of the severe accidents are caused by poor road condition (70% of these accidents are

caused by slippery road surfaces).

The main reasons for the poor road traffic safety situations have been listed as (i) transition economy; (ii) poor level of administration work; (iii) poor financing of the traffic safety sector; and (iv) problems relating to financing local programs.

The fatality and injury rates in Russia are:


All rates are extremely high compared to the averages of EU-member states as well as those of the 6

CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts. The severity index 15.6 fatalities to 100 injuries is approximately 5 times higher than the corresponding 2.8 fatalities to 100 injured within the European Union. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Russia are:

• approx. USD 8 billion, i.e., 2.4% of GDP (USD 330 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience of developing road safety in Russia. Under the Highway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Program (HRMP), the Federal Highway Department (FHD) will carry out Road Safety activities on some 12,000 km of roads. The SARs for the Russian Highway Projects provide information (project description and performance indicators) which clearly outline the magnitude and severity of the problem to be addressed urgently.

There are institutional problems relating to the organization and monitoring of road safety. No single organizational entity has so far been responsible for Road Safety in Russia. All previous proposals by Bank project team members to provide technical assistance for road safety development were turned down by the client. The situation is gradually changing and a proposal to assign MOT to be road safety coordinator is now awaiting final approval. A Commission for Road Safety and a Secretariat would also be established. A Road Safety Plan aimed at sustaining accident risk at present level until year 2 000 has been drafted and is expected to be "implemented."

Russian-Finnish Seminars on Road Traffic Safety were arranged in 1994 and 1995. Russia has also participated in the Nordic Road Traffic Safety Days and the Norwegian Road Traffic Safety Handbook published by TOI has been translated to Russian with assistance from the Nordic Council of Ministers. A National Traffic Safety Seminar with participation from FHWA/NHTSA was conducted in December 1997.

Negotiations have recently been resumed between Russia and the Bank to facilitate Bank involvement in future promotion of road safety development in Russia. A positive preliminary response to a joint seminar

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has been received. The seminar would be aimed at raising commitment for triggering off concrete activities required to reduce accident risk and subsequently accident numbers. SLOVAKIA

Slovakia was one of the CEE countries studied by the Gerondeau group of road safety experts prior to the Road Safety Policy Seminar in Bucharest 1994. Accident statistics indicate that 660 people were killed and 11,573 were injured in road traffic accidents in 1995. The statistics also indicate that the road safety situation has deteriorated slightly since 1993 as the number of annual fatalities has increased by some 13%. The number of injuries has remained unchanged. The fatality and injury rates in Slovakia are:

• 6.7 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1995) • 12.0 fatalities/100.000 inhabitants • 117 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1995)

The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is substantially higher than the average 3.8 of the EU-member

states. Both fatality rates are however slightly (20- 30%) lower than the average for the 6 CEE countries that were studied. The injury rate is considerably higher than the average for CEE countries. The socio-economic costs of road accidents in Slovakia are:

• approx. USD 400 million, i.e., 2.4 % of GDP (USD 16.5 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank's experience with road safety development in Slovakia is limited to the Road Safety Study carried out in 1992-1993. The findings indicated that Slovakia was one of the least developed, if not the least developed, in the field of road safety of the 6 countries that were studied. SLOVENIA

The road safety situation in Slovenia is poor. Statistics show that 415 people were killed and 6,125 were injured in road traffic accidents in 1995. The statistics also indicate that the road safety situation is deteriorating. The number of annual injuries has increased steadily from 1991 to 1995 and was some 11% higher in 1995 than in 1991. The annual number of fatalities is at the same level as in 1991 after having been some 20% higher in 1993 and 1994. The fatality rates are:


The fatality rates are high compared to the averages for EU-member states. The socio-economic costs

of road traffic accidents in Slovenia are:

• approx. USD 650 million, i.e., 3.3 % of GDP (USD 20 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no experience in relation to road traffic safety development in Slovenia. TAJIKISTAN

Accident statistics indicate that 499 people were killed and 2,142 were injured in road traffic accidents in 1993. The number of accidents had reduced sharply since 1991. The annual number of fatalities was reduced by some 40% and the number of injuries by some 60%. The fatality rate is:

• 7.7 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants

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The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 27 million, i.e., 1.2 % of GDP (USD 2.2 billion)

World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience with participating in road safety development in Tajikistan. TURKEY

Road accidents are a serious social-economic problem in Turkey. Road accident statistics show that some 210,000 road traffic accidents occurred in 1993 in which some 6,500 people were killed and 104,000 injured. More recent road accident statistics show that 6,004 people were killed and 114,319 injured in severe road traffic accidents in 1995. The annual number of fatalities has dropped slightly and was 4% lower in 1995 than it was in 1991. Traffic volumes are increasing at a rate of some 6% per year. About 17% of the accidents occur on state and provincial roads in rural surroundings and some 83% in urban traffic environment. In spite of this some 50% of all fatalities occur on state and provincial roads. The total vehicle fleet is some 5.5 million indicating a rate of vehicle ownership of 92 vehicles/1,000 inhabitants.

The annual number of injuries increased by roughly 25% from 1991 to 1995 in spite of the slight reduction in fatalities. Turkey already started implementing the first phase of the Road Traffic Safety National Plan in the beginning of the 1990s with focus on civil works and engineering measures to alleviate road traffic accident black spots and has established a ”Traffic Safety Task Force” to coordinate traffic safety work and oversee the implementation of the proposed World Bank financed Traffic Safety Project. The fatality and injury rates caused by road accidents are:


The fatality and the injury rates per 10,000 vehicles are both extremely high compared to the averages

for EU-member states but also a lot higher than the averages for CEE countries. The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is some 40% lower than the averages for EU and the 6 CEE countries. The severity index measured as fatalities per 100 injuries is 5.2 which is slightly higher than the average for EU-member countries. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Turkey are:

• approx. USD 3.5 billion, i.e., 2.1 % of GDP (USD 170 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has supported road traffic safety development in connection with the previous State and Provincial Road Project in Turkey. In this project road safety was an indirect objective and the safety impacts were estimated to be achieved as part of traffic engineering, traffic control and/or traffic management components. The project included procurement of traffic signals, delineators, guardrails and road marking material. The continuing deterioration of road traffic safety shows that these measures have not had much impact on accident risk factors so far. Reports indicate that this is due to (i) over-ambitious project design and (ii) lack of dialogue with the borrower on key sectoral issues and the role of the Bank in the sector. The contribution of the Bank has been perceived by the borrower as a provider of finance, rather than as a source of relevant experience for institutional strengthening and policy reform. A Traffic Law supported by the Bank was however passed by the Turkish parliament in March 1998.

The proposed Traffic Safety Project is both comprehensive and ambitious and takes into account past experience. The objective is to implement the Road Safety Action Plan which has been developed during the project preparation as pilot projects. Sector assistance will be provided by a consultant with substantial experience in the field of planning and monitoring road traffic safety development. The consultant will have a free hand in monitoring the actions within the traffic safety pilot project.

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TURKMENISTAN

The traffic safety situation in Turkmenistan is poor. Accident statistics show that 484 people were killed in road traffic accidents in 1994 and 2,310 people were injured. Accident history however shows that the absolute numbers of both fatalities and injuries have dropped substantially since 1990. Fatalities have dropped with some 34% and injuries with some 30%. The car ownership rate is some 54 vehicles/1,0000 inhabitants. The fatality and injury rates for Turkmenistan are:

• 16,1 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1994) • 9.7 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 77 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1994)

The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is very high and so is the severity rate 20.9 fatalities/100 injuries.

The injury rate is close to the average for the 6 CEE countries and the fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is approximately 50% below the averages for CEE countries but should be seen against the low rate of vehicle ownership in Turkmenistan. The souci-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 60 million, i.e., 1.1 % of GDP ( 5.5 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has not had previous experience in improving road safety in Turkmenistan. UKRAINE

The traffic safety situation in Ukraine is poor. Statistics show that 3,723 people were killed and 20,006 people injured in road traffic accidents in 1995. The numbers are slightly growing since 1993. The fatality number is up some 5% and the number of injuries some 10%. The fatality and injury rates are:

• 23 fatalities/10,000 vehicles • 7.3 fatalities /100,000 inhabitants • 120 injuries/10,000 vehicles

The rates of fatalities and injuries per 10,000 vehicles are very high compared to most countries in the

ECA region and indicate that road safety is a serious problem requiring urgent attendance in Ukraine but the rate of fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants is slightly lower than the average 7.9 for the 4 Nordic countries. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are:

• approx. USD 1.2 billion, i.e., 1.4 % of GDP (USD 85 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience relating to road safety development in Ukraine. The TOR for a road safety study to be carried out and creation of a Road Safety Plan for Ukraine has been drafted and preliminarily discussed with the client. The Urban Transport Project for Ukraine does not include any specific actions e.g. infrastructure improvement, information and campaigns or training of drivers which would reduce accident risk in the urban traffic environment. UZBEKISTAN

The road safety situation in Uzbekistan is poor. Accident statistics indicate that 2,032 people were killed and 11,978 injured in road traffic accidents in Uzbekistan in 1994. Accident history shows that the number of fatalities and injuries have been reduced by some 35% since 1990. Fatality and injury rates are however still high in spite of these reductions:

• 10.9 fatalities/10,000 vehicles (1994)

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• 8.9 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 65 injuries/10,000 vehicles (1994)

Both the fatality and the injury rate per 10,000 vehicles is slightly above the averages for CEE

countries but the fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants is approximately 50% lower which is to be evaluated against a substantially lower rate of vehicle ownership in Uzbekistan. The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents in Uzbekistan are:

• approx. USD 290 million, i.e., 1.2 % of GDP (USD 25 billion) World Bank Experience: The Bank has no previous experience with road safety development in Uzbekistan.

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4. COMPARATIVE ACCIDENT NUMBERS AND COSTS IN SOME COUNTRIES IN THE AFRICA, EAST ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA REGIONS SOUTH AFRICA

Road safety is a serious problem that the decision makers in South Africa are becoming well aware off and is being addressed. Accident statistics indicate that the number of fatalities has been reduced from 11,069 fatalities in 1991 to 9,935 fatalities in 1994. The motto for the current road traffic safety is "Arrive - and alive." Statistics indicate that the number of injuries was 137,972 in 1994. The fatality and injury rates are:



• approx. USD 4 billion, i.e., 3.0% of GDP (USD 125 billion)

AUSTRALIA

Road safety is currently being extremely efficiently addressed in Australia. The fatality and injury rates are:

• 1.6 fatalities/10,000 vehicles • 9.6 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 15.4 injuries/10,000 vehicles


• approx. USD 6.2 billion, i.e., 1.8% of GDP (USD 636 billion)

KOREA

The road safety situation in Korea looks alarming taking into account the low number of registered vehicles ( 6,300,000 vehicles). More than 10,000 people are annually killed and some 332,000 injured in road accidents. The rates of fatalities and injuries are:

• 16.5 fatalities/10,000 vehicles • 23 fatalities/100,000 people • 530 injuries/10,000 vehicles The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles is higher than that of Turkey, which is 12.4.

The socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents are extremely high due to the high level of

GDP/capita.

• approx. USD 35 billion, i.e., 8.1% of GDP (USD 436 billion) THAILAND

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The road safety situation in Thailand is poor. Some 15,000 people are annually killed and 880,000 people are injured in road traffic accidents. The rates of fatalities and injuries caused by road traffic accidents are very high:

• 24.3 fatalities/10,000 vehicles • 27,9 fatalities/100,000 inhabitants • 1,400 injuries/10,000 vehicles

The socio-economic costs of road accidents are:


NEW ZEALAND

Some 580 people are annually killed and some 16,600 injured in road traffic accidents. The fatality and injury rates are:




BRAZIL

The numbers of annual fatalities due to road traffic accidents are some 6,700 and some 48,500 are annually injured. The fatality and injury rates are:




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5. ROAD SAFETY PARTNERSHIPS -- WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED FROM EU-PHARE EU-Phare has been supporting road safety development by participating in the financing of the Road Safety Policy Seminar in 1994 in Budapest as well as by co-financing several road safety studies, other technical assistance for road safety as well as procurement of equipment. The financial support for road safety components of Bank-assisted projects has lately been restricted to activities relating to "Acquis Communautaire" supporting the implementation of approved EU directives. In view of these restrictions EU-Phare will only finance support for activities aimed at Improving the Technical Condition of Vehicles which at the moment are the only road safety related activities governed by EU directives.

EU-Phare is beginning to implement a comprehensive "Programme For Improved Road Safety In Phare Countries" as part of the "Phare Multi-Country Transport Programme." The objective of this program is to transfer traffic safety expertise from the Member States of the European Union to Phare countries by:

• examining current policies on road safety in each of the Phare countries • assessing the impact and costs of these policies • providing training in good practice for road safety • developing national road safety policies that are compatible with those in the EU • implementing new traffic safety methods • providing a mechanism for the dissemination of knowledge amongst the countries concerned • formulating an Action Plan for the implementation of these programs and the ongoing monitoring

of their impact

The assignment will be carried out by a consultant. The consultant services are currently being procured by EU-Phare. The TORs were sent to the Bank for comments and review. A Bank representative will also be invited to participate in the evaluation of the proposals as well as in the steering group.

The assignment is scheduled to be carried out in 12 months and consists of the following phases:

1. Assessment of current situation 2. Recommendations 3. Action Plan

The study will include missions to the 6 CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,

Romania and Slovakia) included in the previous Phare/World Bank study and in addition missions to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia FYR and Slovenia.

These missions are to be designed to provide the following information:

• An overview of the current situation with regard to the incidence of road accidents. • An evaluation of the current road safety actions with regard to government expenditure,

effectiveness and performance. • Planned initiatives.

The objective is also to present the conclusions of phases 1 and 2 and the national reports on road

safety developments in the CEE countries as part of a follow-up of the Traffic Safety Policy Seminar held in October 1994 in Budapest. Three people from each country should be involved for a 2-day period at this seminar.

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6. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES The Bank's road safety policies were updated in "Sustainable Transport - Priorities for Policy Reform" published as a Development in Practice book in 1996. The policy statements on road safety issues conclude that:

• The World Bank should attach higher priority to moving people rather than vehicles, ensuring greater safety in transport and minimizing adverse effects of transport on health.

• Some Bank actions are urgent because they would address problems that have already become critical such as road safety.

• The Bank should assist countries by addressing health-threatening impacts as a first priority. This could efficiently be achieved by initiating benchmarked safety programs particularly in road transport.

• Partnerships should be fostered by the Bank at the country level between various actors and stakeholders; at the international level between the development community and the country; between the financial community and the sector; and among all those who are addressing the challenges of improving transport.

• The Bank should develop more systematic procedures to learn lessons from experience, with particular emphasis on sustaining safe transport services for all people, including the poor.

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Annual rate of fatalities / 10,000 vehicles

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Albania

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech rep.

Estonia

Georgia

Hungary

Kazakstan

Kyrgyz rep.

Latvia

Lithuania

Macedonia

Moldova

Poland

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

EU average

fatalities / 10,000 vehicles

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Annual rate of fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants

0 5 10 15 20 25

Albania

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech rep.

Estonia

Georgia

Hungary

Kazakstan

Kyrgyz rep.

Latvia

Lithuania

Macedonia

Moldova

Poland

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Tajikistan

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

Cou

ntry

fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants

34

Socio-economic cost of road accidents in % of GDP

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Albania

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech rep.

Estonia

Georgia

Hungary

Kazakstan

Kyrgyz rep.

Latvia

Lithuania

Macedonia

Moldova

Poland

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Tajikistan

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

% of GDP

35

Socio-economic cost of road accidents in million USD

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000

Albania

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech rep.

Estonia

Georgia

Hungary

Kazakstan

Kyrgyz rep.

Latvia

Lithuania

Macedonia

Moldova

Poland

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Tajikistan

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

cost in million USD

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Annual rate of fatalities / 10,000 vehicles

0 5 10 15 20 25

South Africa

Australia

Korea

Thailand

New Zealand

Brazil

Cou

ntry

fatalities / 10,000 vehicles

Annual rate of fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

South Africa

Australia

Korea

Thailand

New Zealand

Brazil

Cou

ntry

fatalities / 100,000 inhabitants

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Socio-economic cost of road accidents in % of GDP

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

South Africa

Australia

Korea

Thailand

New Zealand

Brazil

% of GDP

Socio-economic cost of road accidents in million USD

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000

South Africa

Australia

Korea

Thailand

New Zealand

Brazil

Cou

ntry

million USD

38

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